Please be my partner.

With a smile on his face, Mellen calmly uttered four words: "King of the Era!"

Upon hearing this, Qu Dongchen's expression finally changed slightly.

Mellen continued, "Your decision to launch an attack is probably not just because you are wary of the combined growth of our two sects' disciples. Even if I, the fastest growing among all of you, wanted to catch up with your pace, I would still be a long way off, let alone the others."

"This is a very simple calculation. Giving up the time of more than a dozen of you, plus all the planning and arrangements you've put in, just to exchange for my time, is simply not worth it."

"Even if you are wary of our growth, even if you cannot kill the disciples of the two sects in advance, you can wait until they reach the 'growth' threshold before forcibly starting the war. As long as you do not exceed the threshold, the initiative will always be in your hands."

Qu Dongchen's smile had vanished, while Mellen's lips curled slightly wider.

"The situation in the Outer Heavens may seem evenly matched, but it's actually quite clear: the Heavenly Dao's current power is simply insufficient to contend with the two Dao Lords, so it must introduce new power!"

"And those Epoch Kings who have previously obtained Epoch Dao Fruits and transcended the outer heavens are undoubtedly the best choice!!"

Chapter 689 A Dual Game of Light and Darkness

Strength and weakness cannot be measured in a single moment; it is a long-term game.

Although the Heavenly Dao of the Outer Heavens currently holds the upper hand, both Dao Lords, their respective sects, and even the powerful beings of the Outer Heavens all understand that the outcome will change sooner or later.

The only difference is how much the Dao Lords and Immortal Sects need to invest, and how much benefit the powerful beings on the other shore can share.

In this respect, even the powerful beings on the other side of the Heavenly Dao have the same idea. For them, even if the Heavenly Dao is defeated, it will only be a matter of changing the 'BOSS'. Their strength is their confidence. What they seek now is simply to plan for more benefits on this basis.

Furthermore, if one could obtain the Dao Fruit of the Epoch and become the King of the Epoch, one might even rise from an ordinary 'subordinate' to a 'lord' of a region.

Once the interests involved are clear, everyone's choices become easy to understand.

and so……

Mellen looked at Qu Dongchen and asked curiously, "The Kings of the Epochs are probably about to return, right? The current battle is like playing house, there's no sense of urgency at all. Are we just going to keep holding back and fighting like this until the end of time, waiting for those Kings of the Epochs to return and clean up the mess?"

Qu Dongchen laughed and said, "As expected of a peerless genius who can reach the other shore in such a short time, you are right, our time is indeed limited, but isn't it the same for you?!"

"Presumably, those two don't want to wait for the King of the Era to return and cause trouble, but rather want to settle the situation before then!"

Mellen nodded and said, "I see, so you're also waiting for the right price."

Qu Dongchen shook his finger and said, "Don't put it so harshly. From Tianwaitian's perspective, you are the invaders, while we are the righteous warriors protecting our homeland."

Mellen scoffed and said, "In the end, isn't it all for their own benefit?"

Qu Dongchen calmly said, "At our level of strength, there are very few things that can motivate us to act. If those two can offer us tempting benefits, it wouldn't be a bad idea to join them."

Mellen didn't say anything more, but instead started acting in tacit agreement with Qu Dongchen. With the latter going easy on him, Mellen was naturally happy to relax.

As time slipped by, for the powerful beings on the other side, the meaning of time had become very small, and the cost of battle was almost negligible.

Two powerful beings from the other shore, whose strengths are roughly equal, could fight from the beginning of an era to the end without ever running out of energy if they wanted to.

However, powerful beings from the other side usually wouldn't do that, because it would only waste their first-mover advantage and offer almost no benefit.

I don't know how much time has passed... days? weeks? months? or even years!

Finally, some powerful beings from the other shore began to get restless, because the expected recruitment by the two Dao Lords did not occur, and everything seemed to fall into silence.

Suddenly, a thought pierced the void: "Something's not right! This shouldn't be happening!! We must have overlooked something important!!!"

"Oh no! It's an Epochal Dao Fruit!!"

Like a stone thrown into a still pond, these words caused a great stir. As soon as they were spoken, everyone seemed to suddenly realize something and focused their attention on the Epoch Dao Fruit.

At this moment, the Epoch Dao Fruit has become increasingly radiant, because a mature Epoch Dao Fruit can still continue to grow. After absorbing the nutrients from the Outer Heavens, the battles between the powerful beings on the other side will also continuously provide the Epoch Dao Fruit with more nutrients.

A handsome and masculine young man, shirtless with only an animal skin covering his lower body and holding a thick bone club, exuding a wild aura, suddenly let out a wild roar.

During this period of battle, Mellen often chatted with Qu Dongchen and had already recognized all the powerful beings from the other shore present.

The wild youth, known as the First Man, was the first powerful being born in the Outer Heavens era, and also the strongest among all the powerful beings of the Outer Heavens.

Then the first being raised the bone club in his hand, the club swirling with deep chaos, and slammed it down fiercely towards the Epoch Dao Fruit.

This attack was extremely sudden, and no one had time to stop it, nor did anyone want to. After all, the Epoch Dao Fruit could absorb their power to grow, so theoretically their attacks were useless against the Epoch Dao Fruit.

The bone club slammed into the void, suddenly breaking through some invisible barrier, and a phantom scene abruptly appeared...

A terrifying figure, appearing and disappearing in the shadows, is opening its enormous maw, about to swallow the entire Epoch Dao Fruit!

This scene shocked all the powerful beings on the other side. They fought to the death here, scheming and plotting for their own gain, but they never expected that their own home would be stolen.

The first being roared, and his will spread: "Attack with all your might! We can't let it succeed!!"

Without hesitation, almost all the powerful beings from the other side immediately abandoned their battles and launched an attack on the area where the Epoch Dao Fruit was located.

They didn't know what methods the unknown entity used to deceive them, but since the attack of the First One was effective, it meant that the unknown entity was not invincible.

Of course, the attack was launched by 'almost' all the powerful beings from the other side.

The powerful beings of the other shore transcend time, so theoretically, all attacks from these beings can ignore the attack process; that is, the attack and the hit can occur simultaneously.

However, just as almost all the powerful beings from the other side launched their attacks, a golden light flashed, and a figure actually arrived before the Epoch Dao Fruit a step ahead of them, bracing himself with his hands and forcefully blocking their attacks.

Although the defense erected by that figure was instantly shattered, and that figure was covered in wounds and on the verge of collapse; although the aftershocks of the attack landed in the Epoch Dao Fruit area, making the unknown existence even clearer.

But the combined full-force attack of more than twenty powerful beings from the other shore failed to achieve anything?!

Everyone was shocked to see the figure blocking their way in front of the Epoch Dao Fruit. Long Zizai even shouted, "Merlen! What... what are you doing?!"

A smile played on Mellen's lips, but before he could explain, the man who had started the attack roared, his expression changing drastically, "Keep attacking! Don't give him a chance!!"

At the same time, Long Zizai reacted quickly, his thoughts transcending time to spread out: "My Golden Jade Immortal Sect is the overlord of the Immortal Realm, and Mellen is the head of the Ten Heroes of my Golden Jade Immortal Sect. He is a disciple who has paid homage to the Ancestor. Even a Dao Lord cannot deal with him at will. How dare you harm him? Aren't you afraid that the entire Outer Heaven will be overthrown?!"

As if to verify Long Zizai's words, all the powerful beings on the other side felt their hearts sink. This meant that the two Dao Lords who controlled half of the Heavenly Dao were risking being countered by the Heavenly Dao of the Outer Heavens and had turned their attention to this place. They were even prepared to take action at any time.

It seems that they would not hesitate to let the Heavenly Dao regain some of its share.

The thoughts of the powerful beings on the other side changed in an instant. Some people hardened their hearts and ignored them, still launching attacks.

However, many powerful beings from the other side were wary and paused for a moment with grim expressions.

Even those powerful beings from the other side who made the move were not entirely unaffected. A closer look would reveal that the intensity of their attacks was somewhat weakened compared to their previous strikes.

The smile on Mellen's lips grew increasingly arrogant and unrestrained, and his thoughts also transcended time: "There's no need for the two Dao Lords to take action; this disciple can handle it!"

Suddenly, the already chaotic Tianwaitian became even more turbid, like a pool of filthy water dredged up with thousands of bombs.

In Mellen's case, the exact timeline of the rise of the Divine Dragon Stream suddenly flashed before his eyes, followed by a second, a third, a fourth...

Dozens...

Hundreds...

Thousands...

With each time point that lights up, Mellen's strength will surge.

Qu Dongchen's face twisted in shock: "Impossible! He's just a newly ascended Other Shore, and he only occupies one time point. How could he possibly have so many?!"

The first person was equally incredulous. As the first powerful being from the other shore in this era, he could say that he had seen all the other shores. Even if there were occasional losses, even if we include those powerful beings from the other shore who have secretly revived, the difference could not be this great.

The big sound is loud, the elephant is invisible.

The combined attack of the powerful beings from the other side struck the suddenly appearing torrent of humanity, creating ripples and cracks before being completely obliterated.

At this moment, Mellen possesses thousands of time nodes. Using this power to propel the torrent of humanity is equivalent to doubling his own strength on the original basis, completely surpassing all the powerful beings on the other side.

Only then did the changes around the Epoch Dao Fruit become fully apparent. It was a golden wolfhound, its enormous jaws wide open, biting at the Epoch Dao Fruit, a scene resembling a celestial wolf devouring the sun.

That golden wolfhound was none other than Xiao Li!

As a being of time, Xiaoli in the outer heavens is equivalent to a primordial being from the other shore.

Even the time that the great beings of the Outer Heavens transcend can only be time within the framework of the Outer Heavens.

Xiao Li's power of time transcends the heavens and surpasses the entire outer universe, originating from the dimension of time.

Therefore, in terms of time management, Xiao Li is far superior to the great power on the other shore!

In the special, rule-bound universe of the Outer Heavens, Xiao Li was like a fish in water, like a bird soaring in the sky.

Normally, if beings from other times wanted to enter the Outer Heaven, the two Dao Lords would absolutely not allow it. This is because their home-field advantage under these special rules is too great, so great that even the two Dao Lords would consider it an uncontrollable variable.

However, Xiao Li and Mei Lun have a soul contract, which means they are essentially one, so they are considered as family and should be treated differently.

Therefore, the two Dao Lords granted Xiao Li an additional destiny identity when Xiao Li showed a desire to act alone.

As it turns out, Xiaoli was indeed the biggest variable. After separating from Mellen, it went straight back to the beginning of time and spent millions of years making various plans and arrangements.

Of course, most of the time was spent creating those thousands of time nodes. It was no easy task to pursue both quantity and quality while also maintaining secrecy.

At the end of the era, Xiao Li, with his time power at an even higher level, once again demonstrated his terrifying ability to reverse cause and effect!

This is actually quite simple. The powerful beings of the other shore can transcend the time of the outer heavens, but they are still constrained by the rules of the outer heavens. In other words, they can only roam freely within this era at most, and the farthest future they can reach is the end of the era.

Unless they can devour the Dao Fruit of the Epoch, they cannot break this restriction.

Xiao Li could directly break this limitation. It arrived at the end of the era first and reversed cause and effect with its own circular principle, intending to directly lock onto the result of devouring the Dao Fruit of the Era.

This process itself takes time, and in order to eliminate the resistance of the Epoch Dao Fruit and avoid causing too much of a commotion, the time required will only be longer.

Although the Dao Fruit of the Epoch remained intact, as Xiao Li gradually completed his lock on the future, the Outer Heavens eventually sensed something was wrong and relayed it to the powerful beings on the other shore, which allowed the First One to glimpse the truth.

At this point, the two-pronged game of chess, one overt and one covert, between Mellen and Little Li was finally fully revealed.

Now that she had been discovered, Xiao Li no longer needed to be careful and directly revealed herself to forcibly devour the Epoch Dao Fruit.

Because all the previous plans, the locking onto the future, and the reversal of cause and effect all erupted at this moment, Xiao Li's actions seemed to be accelerated, appearing extremely fast.

The first man shouted, "There's still a chance! We can't let this outsider succeed!"

Upon hearing this, the powerful beings from the other side who had previously made their move were about to join forces and launch another attack.

The first person was right. Their first joint attack directly broke through the defenses that Xiao Li had set up for Mellen. Although the second attack had fewer people, it still exhausted Mellen to a great extent. Even the Humanitarian Torrent showed cracks and seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

If they can launch one or two more attacks together, they might be able to interrupt the golden wolfhound's devouring.

Unfortunately, in this world, plans never keep up with changes!

At the very moment the powerful beings on the other side launched their third attack, Qu Dongchen almost without warning changed his target, turning his attack towards the one who started it all.

The person who initiated the attack was greatly alarmed and caught off guard, causing the original attack to be reduced to less than one-tenth of its original strength. The attacks of other powerful beings from the other side were also affected to varying degrees.

Even so, it was extremely difficult for Mellen to block the attack, but the smile on his face became even more arrogant.

The first person to question him demanded, "Qu Dongchen! What are you doing?!"

Qu Dongchen did not respond, but instead asked Mellen, "You won't go back on your promise to me, will you?"

"Of course!" Mellen laughed heartily, "Not just you! But all of you!! As the leader of the Ten Heroes of the Golden Jade Immortal Sect, and with the Dao Lord as my witness, I swear that I will absolutely keep my promise to you!"

Upon hearing this, all the powerful beings from the other side changed their expressions, because the meaning of these words was quite clear: Qu Dongchen was not the only one who had reached some kind of agreement with Mellen.

Whether this statement is true or false, at this moment, all the powerful beings on the other side have distanced themselves from each other. Their already precarious trust has been completely wiped out, and they can no longer trust each other!

Chapter 690 An Encounter in a Distant Time

The sight before him sent a chill down the spine of the man who had first spoken. He shouted, "Don't fall for it! This foreign devil is bluffing us! If we unite, we can definitely..."

Although Mellen was seriously injured at this moment, in terms of absolute strength, he was still above the original one. Therefore, the will he emitted directly shattered the latter's words: "Think about it, even if you join forces to defeat me, who is most likely to obtain the Epoch Dao Fruit in the end?"

"Instead of that, you might as well accept my terms!"

Enraged, the first man immediately attacked Mellen without regard for the consequences. Mellen, in turn, unleashed a torrent of humanity that blew him away.

The first person struggled and shouted angrily, "Help! Stop him now! Otherwise you'll regret it!!"

Just then, Xiao Li, who was still moving like a slow-motion video even after being accelerated, suddenly flashed with pure golden light. A golden ring spread out from his body, enveloping the entire area where the Epoch Dao Fruit was located.

A halo of light flowed around the circular principle, and the smaller principle within it once again broke through the shackles of time, suddenly opening its mouth and biting down, swallowing the Epochal Dao Fruit.

This unexpected turn of events stunned all the powerful beings from the other shore present, because according to their original expectations, although Xiao Li's speed in devouring the Epoch Dao Fruit was faster than expected, the time previously wasted only allowed Xiao Li to complete half of the progress. Logically speaking, they should still have time to make a choice.

But no one expected that the accelerated devouring speed was still a disguise by Xiao Li. After the progress was halfway through, Xiao Li directly activated his own time talent of the Law of the Ring, forcibly reversed time, and completed the devouring of the Epoch Dao Fruit in an instant.

Boundless radiance emanated from Xiao Li, instantly engulfing Mellen, followed by countless other powerful beings from beyond the heavens, spreading outwards without end, and in an instant, it permeated the entire outer universe.

At this moment, Mellen could feel his mind rising. He 'saw' two vast and powerful forces confronting each other high in the sky, their wills almost tearing the heavens apart.

This feeling is quite peculiar, as if Mellen was originally just a chess piece, but suddenly evolved into the player, able to oversee the entire game and manipulate it at will.

The King of the Era is a being who transcends the outer heavens. Although he cannot compare with the outer heavens in terms of size, he is equal to them in terms of status.

When Mellen turned around, he saw Xiaoli standing quietly behind him, with a solid golden ring above her head. This was the product of the fusion of Xiaoli's talent and the Dao Fruit of the Epoch.